LOS ANGELES—Inspectors recently seized counterfeit luxury watches at Los Angeles International Airport being imported from China that—if genuine—would have had a combined manufacturers suggested retail price of nearly $1.3 million, authorities said June 9.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers assigned to LAX seized the 41 watches during a five-week period from April to May, said CBP spokesperson Jaime Ruiz.
“The watches arrived in individual packages via air cargo from China to destinations across the United States ...,” Ruiz said. “In an attempt to evade detection by CBP officials, the watches were misdeclared as ‘Bracelet,’ ‘Belt,’ ‘Decoration,’ ‘Watch Box,’ and ‘Wall Clock.’”
The Consumer Products & Mass Merchandising Center confirmed that the watches infringed the following registered trademarks:
- Rolex (37 pieces)
- Luminor Panerai (one piece)
- Patek Philippe (one piece)
- Audemars Piguet (one piece)
- Omega (one piece)
“There are thousands of private sellers, collectors, and other non-legitimate sources offering luxury watches on e-commerce platforms making it extremely difficult for consumers to spot these fakes,” said Carlos C. Martel, CBP Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles.
“Consumers should know that buying fake watches is never a good idea—don’t waste your money,” Martel said. “Counterfeit watches are made with cheap metals that could cause skin allergic reactions and will likely break as they lack the craftsmanship and quality of the real ones.”
Martel said counterfeit watches on illegitimate websites could expose consumers to internet security risks— from malware or ransomware to compromising personal data and financial information shared during the purchase.
“The bottom line is that importing, selling, and buying counterfeit goods is illegal,” said Cheryl Davies, CBP Port Director of the Los Angeles International Airport.
Anyone with information regarding suspected fraud or illegal trade activity was urged to report the information to e-Allegations Online Trade Violation Reporting System or by calling 1-800-BE-ALERT.
Intellectual property rights violations should be reported to the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center online or by telephone at 1-866-IPR-2060.
